The Musikverein ('Music Association') at Duesseldorf has been active for 200 years. Due to its participation in the Lower Rhenish Music Festivals, and its influence on the cultural and educational municipal policy the Musikverein left an enduring mark on the musical life of the city. Analysing its activities draws conclusions from the cultural self-image of the bourgeois classes which supported the association. Concepts of programs of concerts, organisational structure, and interaction with professional musicians, stand for a change. Members of the civil musical culture had to find a new position in an increasing, and even more and more professionalized musical market in between the 19th and the 20th century.